Gambiaj.com – (BISSAU – Guinea-Bissau) – The Central Committee meeting of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) scheduled for March 28 in Bissau has been postponed after the party said security authorities prevented the gathering from taking place.
In a statement issued by its National Secretariat, the main opposition party in Guinea-Bissau said its Senior Directorate decided to suspend the meeting after the hotel selected to host the event informed party officials that security forces had prohibited it from proceeding and warned of possible legal consequences if it went ahead.
The meeting was originally planned to take place at the party’s national headquarters in Bissau. However, the PAIGC said the premises have remained closed since the military coup of November 26, 2025, forcing the party to seek an alternative venue.
According to the statement, party officials subsequently arranged to hold the meeting at a hotel in the capital and notified the relevant authorities, including the Ministry of the Interior. The PAIGC claims the ministry refused to receive the communication, saying it lacked “superior instructions” to do so.
The party also said it had previously written to the High Military Command, which led the coup, requesting permission to reopen its headquarters, but received no response.
The situation escalated on the evening of March 27 when the hotel reportedly informed the PAIGC National Secretariat that members of the security forces had visited the premises and instructed management that the meeting would not be allowed to take place.
According to the party, the hotel was warned that hosting the event would be “entirely its responsibility,” effectively forcing management to withdraw from the arrangement.
The Central Committee, the party’s highest decision-making body between congresses, was expected to set the date for the PAIGC’s XI Ordinary Congress and establish a preparatory commission for celebrations marking the party’s 70th anniversary in September.
In its statement, the PAIGC also alleged that security forces had issued similar warnings to other hotels in Bissau, discouraging them from hosting the meeting.
The party further argued that the restrictions placed on its activities contrast with the freedom enjoyed by other political actors who have been able to organize meetings, press conferences, and public events without obstruction.
The dispute unfolds amid deep internal tensions within the historic party, with a dissident faction announcing plans to organize a separate congress on May 9 and 10. The group includes several leaders who joined the transitional government formed after the coup.
The political crisis surrounding the PAIGC has been compounded by the detention of its leader, Domingos Simões Pereira, who has been under house arrest since January after spending more than two months in custody in Bissau.
Pereira was arrested by the military authorities who carried out the coup and has been accused by political leaders of involvement in an alleged attempt to overthrow former president Umaro Sissoco Embaló before he was himself removed from power during the November takeover.
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